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Dateline returns with another of its gripping true-crime tales, and this time with the terrifying tale of Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old University of Utah student athlete whose life was brutally ended in 2018. The case had been on air as national news due to how it ended and the questions unanswered about campus security and institutional failure.
With Dateline shining a new light on the incidents, the case once again appears to be a warning of what can be accomplished because of negligence and dishonesty. Lauren McCluskey's murder shocked her campus community, as well as the public at large.
Her story isn’t just about a crime; it’s about a brilliant, gifted woman whose repeated cries for help went unanswered. As Dateline revisits her murder in “Running Out of Time,” viewers will see how one devastating tragedy exposed deep flaws in the very systems meant to protect students, and why her case continues to resonate years later.
Who was Lauren McCluskey?
Lauren McCluskey, born in February 1997 in Pullman, Washington, was a standout both in the classroom and on the track. A dedicated high jumper and track and field athlete, she excelled as a student while pursuing a communications degree at the University of Utah, where she proudly competed as part of the school’s athletics team.
She was described by friends and coaches as reserved, hard-working, and polite, with a promising professional and personal life. Dateline highlights her achievements and personality before tragedy struck her, so that the viewers would be able to understand what she was all about, aside from breaking news.
The love that turned deadly
Lauren had begun dating Melvin Rowland in September 2018; the 28-year-old man, as she saw him. In subsequent investigations, Rowland was found to have deceived her, not disclosing that he was 37 years old and also a registered s*x offender with a marked criminal history.
When she got to know the reality of his age and his life, she ended the relationship with him on 9 October 2018. Dateline calls this the beginning of the threat of harassment she faced, as this had been a raging one-night stand turned one of rising dominance.
Glimpses of the police before her murder
Following the breakdown, Rowland began issuing threats by phone calls and messages to Lauren, and some of them were extortionist in nature. Since she was worried about her safety, she continued making phone calls to the campus police and to the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Later, it was discovered in the police reports that Lauren had made more than 20 phone calls to the police, claiming Rowland was harassing and manipulating her. In all this, the police hadn't responded as they ought to have responded. As Dateline finds out, all these lost chances are at the center of outrage over her murder by the public.
The night of October 22, 2018
Lauren walked home from school to her campus dormitory on October 22, 2018, where she was approached by Rowland near her dormitory. According to Dateline, he shoved her into a car and fired several shots, killing her. She was then found in the back of the car. Rowland drove away from the scene and hours later, after a chase by police, took his own life in a Salt Lake City church.
Dateline re-creates the horrific last several hours of Lauren's life in a chronology that causes one to ask how much could have been avoided with this crime.
The after effects of the murder
Lauren McCluskey's murder was followed by widespread outrage against the University of Utah and its police department. Autonomous investigations revealed that police mishandled Lauren's several complaints and failed to take any action required for her survival.
In 2020, the university admitted and resolved with Lauren's parents, Jill and Matt McCluskey, for $13.5 million. Dateline reveals how the case acted as a landmark in the conversation regarding campus security, institutional accountability, and police reactions to threats against women.
The far-reaching impact of the case
Lauren's legacy did not pass away with her. Her parents, Jill and Matt, started the Lauren McCluskey Foundation to carry on her legacy and advocate for more campus safety, student well-being, and animal well-being, all of which were causes that Lauren was zealous about.
The foundation continues to advocate on the national front. The show recognizes this legacy as part of the puzzle of observing the ripple effect of what transpired in 2018.
Why Dateline reopened the case
"Running Out of Time" not only revisits the case of Lauren McCluskey to report on the crime once more, but also in order to expose the failure of the system that rendered her vulnerable to it.
The show explores the chronology of events, the police response, and the reforms in peril thereafter. By reenacting this story, Dateline is ensuring that Lauren's name is never forgotten, and her case acts as a testament to where things go wrong when institutions respond slowly to threats of harm.
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This was one of the most horrific recent campus crimes was the 2018 murder of Lauren McCluskey. Dateline: Running Out of Time revisits the case and reminds us of the victim's life as well as how the failures made it all possible. The series remains factual, timeline, and lessons from this tragic case.
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